Blast from the past
by snowball0709
Summary: Rose Weasley, who had a major fallout with her father, left home four years ago. Now will a blast from the past that she thought was behind her, convince her to come back to England, to the family that she left behind? Slightly Ron bashing but not too much.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N :** This story came to life based on a small plot bunny that refused to move away from my head. Hope you all like it.

 **DISCLAIMER :** I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.

He made his way into the muggle cafe, to get away from the sun for a while, and to get something cool to drink. The man had a strong built; clearly he spent more than his share in the gym. He was of an average height and had unruly black hair. There was a twinkle in his eye and a sense of mischief in his face. One look at him could tell that he wasn't a native of that country.

James Potter didn't expect it to be this hot in Australia. He came to the country to get a break from his fast paced life in Britain, in the magical community, as a famous Quidditch player, not to mention the fact that he was a _Potter_. The name itself carried a lot of baggage. Though James was better than his siblings when it came to soaking in the fame, there was only so much a person could take.

He let out a satisfactory sigh as a cool breeze hit his face as soon as he opened the door of the cafe. He went into the cafe and looked around. The cafe was a bit small but certainly had a homely feel to it. The tables were made up of glazed wood and the chairs were padded with cushions. Slow and melodious music played in the background in a low volume. The lighting was dim enough to give the place a peaceful look. The few customers that were in the cafe were all busy with their own devices and didn't even give him a second glance.

He smiled to himself as he decided that he could easily spend a few hours in here gathering his thoughts. He found an empty table and made his way over. He felt content to sit there in the cosy cafe, where nobody bothered him and left him to his own thoughts. After a few minutes, he took the menu which was in front of him and started looking at the contents of the menu. He finally decided on what he wanted and went over to the counter to place his order.

After getting what he ordered, James took the tray that contained his sandwich and coffee and turned around to go back to his table. But what he didn't expect was that a young lady was standing just behind him. The pair bumped into each other rather hardly.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." James mumbled as he tried to balance the tray and didn't see the face of the lady.

"It's alright, my mistake too." she said as she stretched out her hands to help him hold the tray. James couldn't help but think that the voice sounded oddly familar.

"Thanks." James said as he moved his eyes away from the tray to look at her face. James wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him as he gazed at the face in front of him. It wasn't a face that he had seen in nearly four years. He opened his mouth but not a single sound came out. He stood gaping at the lady in front of him.

She had bushy hair in the same shade as his mother, not to mention almost everyone on her side of the family. She was dressed in attire that suggested that she was working. And the expression she wore was one of pure surprise. But she was the first of the two to overcome it and speak.

* * *

"James?!" she stumbled to get that single word out of her mouth.

James looked up at her and the shock of seeing her was evident on her face. He seemed wordless and just stared at him. She smiled inward at the thought of leaving _the great_ _James Potter_ , or so he thought about himself, speechless, especially since he was always ready to give her a satire.

"R-Rose!" he exclaimed, after giving over the initial shock of seeing her. He seemed to be recovering as the expressions on his face changed from shock to happy to sad and ultimately settled on an angry look.

"Rose, you had us all worried sick! What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" he nearly shouted.

Rose grabbed his hand and gave him a glare that refrained him from shouting anymore. But she softened her expression as she said, "I think we should talk about it James."

James, not able to trust his mouth, simply nodded at the red-haired girl.

"Why don't you go and sit. I'll grab my order and come." she told him.

Rose watched as James went over to the table that he claimed. She let out a deep breath that she didn't even know that she had been holding. Rose leaned against the wall behind her as she attempted to gather her thoughts. She knew that she could never get away from her family, being as big as it was, but she never thought that _James,_ of all the people, would be the first to confront her. It wasn't a big secret that the two cousins didn't get on. They were always fighting when they were young and as they grew up, learned to merely tolerate the other's presence.

At least she wouldn't have to explain as to she left in the first place; surely her father would have done that already. Urgh! Why did it have to be so complicated? Why couldn't he have just accepted her decision?

She took her order from the counter and made her way over to where James sat, bearing herself for what was about to come. When she reached the table, James smiled a bit sheepishly at her, as if to show that he was ashamed at how he shouted.

"Sorry for my outburst Rose. I didn't mean to shout like that. It was just a result of the shock of seeing you again, I guess." James apologized.

Rose was astonished at how sincere he sounded. Was it really the James Potter that she knew from her childhood, or rather _had_ known, since she hadn't seen or heard from him in a long time? It could be possible that he changed.

"It's alright, James. Even I might have reacted in the same way, had the situation been reversed." she replied.

"Ah! But it's not, is it Rosie?" he asked, with a cocky grin, the one that irritated the hell out of Rose and that was the James that Rose knew.

But she smiled at him as she said, "You're right. It's not."

"Did you just say that I'm right?" he asked her.

"A few rare incidents occur once in a while James. But don't get used to things like that." she retorted to him.

"Cheeky as always, good to see that a few things never change." James said.

Rose shook her head and asked, "What are you doing here James?"

"Aren't I the one who should be asking you that question?" James shot back. As Rose made no signs of talking, he said, "Fine! I'll go first. Actually, I'm on a break from everything that's going on in my life."

"And what exactly is that?" Rose asked, trying to keep the conversation all about James and not about her.

"The fame and the media are finally starting to get on my nerves. So, I wanted to get away from all that." he said with a shrug and quickly asked before Rose could get a word in, "What about you Rose? What are you doing here?"

"You are on a break from your life and I'm on my lunch break." Rose simply said. She knew that that was not what he asked her but she couldn't give him the answer that he wanted.

But he seemed distracted by her reply as he asked her, "Your lunch break? Does that mean you live here, in Australia?"

"Yes James, I live in Australia now. It's been my home for the last four years."

"What work do you do?"

"I'm a reporter for a local newspaper company called 'The News Now'." she answered.

"'The News Now'?! But that's the most popular and prestigious company in the magical community of Australia." James exclaimed with wide eyes. In Australia, there wasn't only one newspaper available, there were plenty and all the newspapers often competed for the top position. But it is mostly TNN that stands first.

"Yeah, it is." she modestly said. "How did you know that?" she asked her cousin.

"I've been in this country for nearly two weeks Rose." he said as if that should explain it all. Rose nodded at him.

Soon a silence fell between them. Both didn't know how to break it and it was becoming awkward to the pair. Rose knew what James wanted to truly ask her. But she couldn't bring up the topic herself, she didn't want to. So she used that time to finish eating her lunch. The two cousins ate while the silence continued, broken by a remark here and there, but nothing of major importance.

It wasn't until they had both finished eating that James started. "So Rose . . ." he trailed off.

Rose took a deep breath and said, "Spit it out James. We both know what you want to ask."

"What happened that day? Are you really happy now?" he asked the red haired witch. Rose was moved by the concern that was present in his eyes for her. So she decided that she would answer his question for real now.

 **A.N :** What do you all think? Leave a review to let me know your thoughts. It would make my day!

As for the readers reading my other story, Reunited, I am not abandoning it. I will continue once I get out of the writer's block that I got for that particular story.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N:** This story is going to be regularly updated weekly from now on. Sorry for the LONG delay!

 **Chapter 2**

 _"What happened that day? Are you really happy now?" he asked the red-haired witch. Rose was moved by the concern that was present in his eyes for her. So, she decided that she would answer his question for real now._

But as much as she wanted to tell James, something was holding her back. Rose fiddled with the spoon with which she had had her lunch, thinking about how she should start. But, before she could gather the courage to open her mouth, the grandfather clock in the corner of the room began chiming. She turned her head to look at the clock. Her eyes widened when she saw the time. Her lunch break was nearly over and she had an important meeting with her boss right after lunch. She quietly cursed under her breathe.

She turned towards James and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry James! But I really should get going now. I should have been back in my office five minutes ago."

"Rose, we just started talking about you and now you have to leave?" he asked her, not able to believe that she wanted to take off, all the sudden.

The look of disbelief on his face made Rose feel guilty. James was after all, her family. Even though he had the ability to get on her nerves, she always felt that James was the elder brother that she had never had. But should anyone ask her such, she would deny it without a second's hesitation. Apart from that, Rose really missed her family.

So, she suddenly made up her mind, took a deep breath, and before she could change her decision, she said, "Look James, I have a very urgent meeting right now. But I would be glad to meet you afterwards."

"Rose, I can understand if you don't want to talk," James started to say, but she cut him off and said in her most sincere voice, "I mean it, James. I do want to meet you later."

James considered her offer for a second and finally said, "I would like that."

Rose gave him a big smile and stood up to leave. "Tomorrow evening's good for you?" she asked him.

"Tomorrow? Why not today?" he asked her with a frown.

"Because I don't know till when I'll have to stay at the office today. I might be running late, especially since I'll definitely be late now."

As an afterthought, Rose asked, "Are you busy tomorrow?"

James ran his hands through his unruly black hair making it even more messy and avoided looking at her. Rose smiled to herself, thinking that a few things never do change. James running his hands through his hair was one of the fool proof ways to guarantee that he was nervous about something. Judging by the sheepish expression on his face, Rose could only guess that he had plans to meet some girl tomorrow and that James was thoroughly smitten by her.

He was still fidgeting in his seat, clearly torn with wanting to meet up with Rose and wanting to go out with that girl. Rose decided to put him out of his misery and asked, "Do you have a date for tomorrow?"

James looked at her and said, "Yeah, I do." And then he hastily added, "But I'm willing to cancel it for you!"

She was entirely shocked with his response. James was never one to cancel a date and that too with a girl that he obviously liked.

"That's so sweet, James, but it's not necessary." She said. Rose quickly grabbed a piece of paper from her bag and scribbled her address on it. She then turned to James, and said, "Owl me about when you're free"

She made her way round the table, handed the parchment to him and hugged him, while saying in a low voice, "It truly was great seeing you again, James."

She pulled out of the hug and said, "I'll be waiting for your owl."

"Me too, Rosie. I'm glad I ran into you." James said in the same low voice as her. "And I'll get back to you on a timing as soon as possible"

Rose gave him a smile and then ran out of the café, murmuring about all kinds of things that her boss would likely yell at her for being late while James sat in his seat, watching her leave.

After she went out of his sight, he sat back in his seat, thinking about how unexpected his afternoon had been. He chuckled to himself thinking of how flustered she was when she saw his face. James knew that it wasn't like Rose to just run away when things got bad. But, she did just that. That morning was still vivid for James in his mind.

 _James's apartment was situated exactly in the middle of London. Despite of where the apartment was located, James got it for a good deal and he instantly fell in love with the place as soon as he saw it. He knew that everyone thought he was crazy to want to live amid all the craziness and the noise of the city. But James was never one for peace and quite. He loved everything that had to do with noise. Another reason for James to prefer the place was it was quite near to The Leaky Cauldron, and hence very near to Diagon Alley. He was always one to avoid_ _Appariation_ _and it was the last on his list of ways of transport, just above_ _Appariation was_ _using a portkey._

 _That day was during his off-season. James didn't have to go to work that day and so he woke up quite late that morning. He woke up in a good mood, having been able to have slept for so long. He went about his day as it was any other one. He had a late breakfast and was thinking about what to do for later. He considering going to visit his parents' house as both his siblings were home for the holidays._

 _Al had asked him, in his recent letter, if he could help him to find a house for Al to live in. James wondered if Al would be up for some house hunting today. With that, he made up his mind to pay Godric's Hallow a visit._

 _The second he flooed to his childhood home, James knew something was wrong. Instead o_ _f the ordinary music that played from the wireless, during that time of the day, courtesy of his mother, or the constant bickering between Albus and Lily, the house had an eerie silence to it. He immediately knew that something was wrong. James made his way to the kitchen, calling out, "Al? Lily? Anyone home?"_

 _James would never forget the sight that greeted him in the kitchen. Both his parents along with his aunt and uncle, Hermione and Ron, sat at the table. The worry in his parents' eyes was evident. But what startled him was the state that Hermione was in. Her hair was all over her face and the tear tracks, which were starting to dry up, clear on her red face. Her eyes were blood-shot and was apparent that she had been crying for a long time._

 _James tried to think of a time when he saw Hermione in such a state. The Hermione he knew was always collected, strong and ready to fight against the world for what she believed in. Even during her father's funeral, she put her grief aside and maintained a strong front of her mother's sake. She was the one who had taught him and all his cousins to have a cool mind in any situation and especially during the bad times. She was like his role model in that aspect._

 _And Ron looked as bad as his wife, if not worse. James cleared his throat, making the others aware of his presence. As soon as she saw him, Ginny leapt from her seat and pulled him in for a bone crushing hug which could easily rival her mother's._

 _James gently pulled out of the hug, and asked, "Mum, what's wrong? What happened?"_

 _But instead of Ginny, a voice beside him answered._

 _"_ _It's Rose." Harry said. James slightly jumped in surprise. Caught up with his mother, he didn't see his dad come over to him. Fear crept up his spine as he wondered what could have occurred to Rose. He couldn't help but think if the worse had happened to her._

 _"_ _Wha – what about Rose? What happened to her?" James asked as his voice shook with fear._

 _As a response, Harry handed him a piece of parchment. James held it up to the light so that he could read it._

"I can't live among people who can't understand me or my intentions. I have made up my mind. I'm sorry if my decisions have hurt you. But I must remind you, it's my life and I'll live it the way I want to. I do want you in my life but not at the expense of me losing the most important piece of it.

Again, I'm sorry for having hurt you.

-Rose."

 _James took a deep breath as he slow reread the letter, trying to understand what he was reading. He couldn't believe it. Did Rose run away? Did she leave her home and family? That wasn't like Rose. Rose was like a replica of her mother in those matters, just as strong willed and determinate. But, the writing on the parchment was exactly like Rose's curvy and slightly fancy script._

 _James looked at his dad and opened his mouth, but there wasn't any noise coming out. He had no words to form a sentence. But his thoughts were running a mile a minute._

 _"_ _Bu-but, how! Is this real?" he finally managed to stutter._

 _"_ _Hermione found the note this morning, when she woke up. All her things were gone." Ginny replied._

 _"_ _But why?" James dumbly asked all the adults in the room, but looked directly at his aunt and uncle. "What made her do this? It hasn't been even a week since they finished Hogwarts."_

 _Both Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, unable answer his questions Ron looked highly uncomfortable as he said, "There was a slight misunderstanding between Rose and us,"_

 _But Hermione immediately interrupted and asked in a fierce voice, "Us?!"._

 _And at the same time, Ginny murmured, "Slight is a huge understatement."_

 _Ron sighed as held his hands up in defeat and said, "Alright! Alright!"_

 _"_ _There was a_ huge _misunderstanding between Rose and_ me _. I was going to have apologized in the morning, by which, she would have cooled a bit. But I could have never thought, even in my wildest dreams, she would do something like this." Ron explained._

 _"_ _But, what was it about?" James asked the couple._

 _Before either of them could ask, Harry said, "That's none of our business, James. Whatever the reason, it should stay between them."_

 _James simply nodded to show that he understood. The expressions on the Weasleys' faces could show how grateful that James didn't press for more information._

 _Later that day, the most intense search that the Ministry of Magic had ever seen had begun. The first two weeks were the worst. Everyone searched for Rose, including the Aurors, family, and friends. They all waited with baited breath, waiting for any news of where Rose could be. But it was all in vain. Nobody had the slightest idea of where Rose was. The search extended to the other countries and carried out across the oceans. But there was no news._

 _Six months later,_

 _The entire family, apart from those who were still in school and obviously Rose, sat in the back yard of the Burrow for their regular Sunday lunch. It was during the lunch, Ron stood up to make an announcement._

 _"_ _We're calling off the search for Rose" he said._

 _The statement was met with lots of murmurs from the family, and when they finally calmed down, she said, "Hermione got a letter from Rose, the day before."_

 _The yard became so quite that the only noise was the distance sounds from the birds. Someone broke the silence by asking whether it was because Rose decided to come home._

 _Instead of replying, Hermione held Ron's hand as it began to shiver and so it was Hermione who continued, "She wrote that she's happy and would like to be left alone. She also said that she would be grateful if she could live her life without having to hide from anyone, lest they inform us of her whereabouts."_

 _Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say. At last, Molly broke the silence._

 _"_ _When you said that the letter was addressed to Hermione," she broke off, not knowing how to continue._

 _"_ _Yes Mum, it was addressed to only Hermione." Ron replied._

 _Tears started to gather in his eyes as he unsuccessfully tried to stop them from rolling down. It was an open secret in the family that the reason that Rose had left was solely Ron. But what had transpired between the father and daughter was a mystery to the rest of the family. Apart from Rose and her parents, the only people who knew everything were Harry and Ginny, who would never betray their friends' trust. Even Hugo didn't know the entire details of it._

Later that night, James wrote a letter to Rose telling her that he would be happy to meet her Friday night.

 **A.N:** What do you think? Please leave a review regarding your views. It would make my day!


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